Chapter 17 +10 Bonus I felt a pang of anger on her behalf but kept my voice calm . " I'm sorry you've felt so unsupported . That's not fair to you . " She blinked rapidly , as if trying to hold back tears . " I don't even know who I am anymore . I feel like I'm drowning in my own life . " Her words hit me harder than I expected . Memories of the children's home surfaced unbidden : Emily's defiant smile , her determination to protect those she cared about , even when she was barely holding herself together . " You know , " I said carefully , choosing my words . " When you're caught in a riptide , the key isn't to fight it head - on . You swim parallel to the shore until you find your way back . " Emily's brow furrowed , and she tilted her head slightly . " That's … familiar , " she said slowly . A small , 1/5 Chapter 17 +10 Bonus wistful smile played at her lips . " It reminds me of something a friend once told me , a long time ago . " I held her gaze for a moment , my heart . pounding , but I didn't push further . It wasn't the right time . " It's a good reminder , " I said simply . " Sometimes the hardest thing is finding the shore . again , but it's always there . " She nodded , her expression softening . For the first time since she'd entered , she seemed to relax slightly . The session continued with her opening up more about her struggles , though she avoided delving too deeply into her marriage and her reunification with her mother . I didn't press her . Building trust was more important than dissecting every detail of her life right now . After she left , I sat alone in my office , replaying the conversation in my mind 2/5 Chapter 17 the conversation in my mind . +10 Bonus I was ten years old when I last saw Emily at the children's home . We had been inseparable , two lost souls finding comfort in each other's presence . When my biological parents came for me , I had clung to the promise we made : to meet at the home once a year . For three years , I returned , my heart pounding with anticipation each time . But during the third year , Emily wasn't there . A caretaker handed me a letter she'd written , explaining she'd been adopted by a family out of state . I never read it . My parents had destroyed it before I could . I stopped going after that . The promise had felt like a lifeline once , but now it was just a reminder of what I had lost . 3/5 Seeing Emily again all these years later , Chapter 17 +10 Bonus struggling and adrift , had stirred something in me . The girl I remembered had been strong , determined . She had faced every challenge with a fire that inspired me to do the same . Now , it seemed like that fire had been all but extinguished . Over the next couple weeks , Emily continued her sessions , slowly peeling back the layers of her pain . I listened carefully , offering advice when appropriate , but mostly just giving her the space to speak freely . One afternoon , after a particularly emotional session , I decided to look into something that had been gnawing at the back of my mind . I had seen Maya before - of that , I was certain . The woman had been with my father once , years ago , and something about the way they interacted had left me uneasy . Now , with everything Emily had told me , I couldn't ignore the possibility that Maya might be connected to my family in a way neither of might be connected to my family in a way neither of us could have anticipated . For now , I would focus on helping Emily regain her strength . But I couldn't shake the feeling that our paths had crossed again for a reason . And this time , I wouldn't let her slip away .